UPDATE:Rick Enstrom was so impressed with the speaker’s olive branch he showed up today with a valentine for him and candy for the lawmakers.

Rep. Janak Joshi, R-Colorado Springs, got a kick out the valentine candy and message he received from House Speaker Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver. Ferrandino upset Enstrom Candies when he dissed their toffee, and they refused to deliver boxes to lawmakers for Valentine’s Day so the speaker ponied up for some toffee for his colleagues. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Speaker Mark Ferrandino

House Speaker Mark Ferrandino lived up to his reputation as a good sport today when he placed Enstrom Candies toffees on each lawmaker’s desk, along with a Valentine Day’s message:

“Roses are red, violets are blue, I don’t like toffee, but I hope that you do!”

Ferrandino said he spent about $200 on the treats. The Denver Democrat took plenty of heat last week when Enstrom Candies announced it would break from tradition and not deliver its famous toffee to each lawmaker on Valentine’s Day because the speaker kept referring to it as the “fruitcake of the confectionery world.” Ferrandino explained he doesn’t like toffee, from any company. Still, Enstrom officials were livid.

Until today.

When Rick Enstrom heard what Ferrandino did, he laughed so hard he couldn’t talk for a few seconds. “I think it’s hilarious,” Enstrom said.

Enstrom Candies is known for its toffee and most Valentine’s Days each lawmaker gets a small box of the tasty treat from the Grand Junction company. Not this year. All is not right in Candy Land. Enstrom said the company is so upset that Ferrandino keeps using the fruitcake line that other lawmakers have to suffer and won’t get their box of toffee.

“He’s offending somebody who creates jobs, and pays a good wage and full benefits,” Enstrom said.

Republican Mario Nicolais is flanked by Joe Megyesy, a consultant with the Starboard Group, and Rick Enstrom, a 2012 legislative candidate, at Nicolais’ state Senate candidate kickoff June 20 in Lakewood. (Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

Mario Nicolais, who chastised his own party for its handling of a civil unions bill in the 2012 legislative session, formally kicked off his state Senate campaign at the Lakewood Heritage Center.

Nicolais pointed out that winning the seat, currently held by Democrat Andy Kerr, is crucial to Republicans taking control of the Senate. Senate District 22 is expected to be the epicenter of the 2014 Senate election battle.

Nicolais is an attorney who serves as spokesman of Coloradans for Freedom, a group of Republicans who support civil unions. His fans believe he the perfect candidate to win a swing district. Supporters include former state lawmakers Josh Penry and Rob Witwer, who are among the co-hosts for a fundraiser for Nicolais Thursday night at the Lakewood Country Club.

Ashley Lamkin, left, and her twin sister, Katie Behnke, right were born at St. Joseph Hospital in 1980. Ryan Call, center, the chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, also was born at St. Joe’s. Call and his twin, Heather, celebrate their 38th birthday Saturday. (Photo by Lynn Bartels, The Denver Post)

As far as promotions goes, St. Joseph Hospital has come up with a doozy — a reunion for all those folks born at the facility and there are hundreds of them, including a former governor and a current governor’s son.

They’ve been invited to come to Sports Authority Field June 22 for Coming Home to St. Joe’s, billed as the largest reunion of its kind in Colorado. It’s all part of the Heritage Project, a yearlong celebration of the hospital’s 140-year history in Denver and the building of a new, $623 million medical campus that’s due to open in December, 2014.

A luncheon this week at the Four Seasons in downtown Denver — site of the former St. Joe’s facility — celebrated the accomplishments of the hospital as told by staffers and some of the people lucky enough to have been born there, including:

Peter J. Coors, whose siblings and whose father were born at St. Joe’s. He pointed out that both Coors Brewing and St. Joe’s were founded 140 years ago.

“Aw, crap. Now I have to go back to working for one of the best family businesses in Colorado, teaching my grandkids woods skills, and training a new Labrador. I win. It’s truly been an honor, and a gas!”

The education reform group endorsed both Republican and Democrat candidates.

Most endorsements offer few surprises, which is why I did a double take when I read Stand For Children’s endorsements. The education reform group backed a mixture of Republican and Democrat candidates, mostly to the state House and Senate.

Most organizations back candidates from one party or another or mostly from one party or the other, but not in this case.

Sonja Semion of Stand For Children said the candidates were interviewed by a panel of parents and educators.

“The endorsed candidates demonstrated their commitment to supporting quality teaching and school leadership, increasing access to excellent public schools across the state, and investing more in what works in public education,” she said.

Tyler, a Democrat who faces a challenge from Republican Rick Enstrom in House District 23, passed on this e-mail from his son, Roger:

Hey Pops,

I thought I should let you know that your 54 Chevy truck is famous thousands of miles away.

I was hitchhiking from Denali National Park in Alaska back to Talkeetna for work and watching the cars go by counting to see how many it would take to get a ride when a van (#5) passed me towing a U-haul trailer. I figured there was no hope of getting a ride from a group of what looked like kids. All of a sudden I heard honking and turned around to see they had pulled over and a guy was getting out of the van to open the trailer to throw my pack in!

“I’m a candymaker,” Enstrom said, when he introduced himself, referring to his family’s candy store, Enstrom’s, maker of incredible toffee and other treats. Plenty of folks responded with oohs and aahs.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.